Tasmania: the southern hemisphere’s hub for marine and Antarctic research – 5th July 2011

July 5, 2011

Presentation by Professor Mike Coffin

The Royal Society Room

Tuesday, 5th July 2011 Commencing 8.00 pm until 10.00 pm

About the Speaker

Mike Coffin commenced as Executive Director of UTAS’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) in January 2011, and is inspired by the unique opportunity to build a new institute that aims to become a global centre of excellence for temperate marine, Southern Ocean, and Antarctic studies. He is a marine geoscientist whose research expertise encompasses episodic Earth-Ocean system phenomena and processes. Educated at Dartmouth College (AB) and Columbia University (MA, MPhil, PhD) in the USA, he has pursued an international career that reflects the boundless nature of the global ocean. Mike has previously worked at Geoscience Australia (1985-1989), the University of Texas at Austin (1990-2001), the University of Tokyo (2001-2007), and the UK’s University of Southampton and National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (2007-2010).

Brief Abstract of the Talk

Tasmania is a primary gateway to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, placing the University of Tasmania in a unique strategic position to pursue preeminent global excellence and reputation in Antarctic, Southern Ocean, and temperate marine research. With this in mind, IMAS has been established by the University to build a critical scientific concentration around its internationally recognized expertise in marine and Antarctic research, previously spread among diverse faculties, institutes, and schools across the Hobart and Launceston campuses. The bringing together of the elements of IMAS will give a focus that is intended to provide national and international leadership in studies of the Southern Ocean and its margins. This research concentration will also provide both CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research and the Australian Antarctic Division with a complementary research environment, infrastructure, and underpinning education and training services. The vision of IMAS—to advance, unify, and enable temperate marine, Southern Ocean, and Antarctic studies—will be achieved by innovative science and a focus on measurable benefit to society, enabled through building a network of national and international research, education, and training collaborations.